Hi

We're home from SC. I took lots of pics. They'll be on snapfish soon.
And no, I don't update the blog when I'm down there. Too busy! Too much to see and do!
But we're home now, so I'll be back at it.
Just to tide you over:

So... MOTY moment

Some days you just chase your tail.

Yesterday was Eleri's well visit for 4 months old. She's doing great! 13lbs 9oz, growing, thriving, prevacid is working, yay yay yay.
Niall woke up with a puffy eye. So, when I got to the doc's office I asked them if we could piggyback a check on him with our visit. Yes. So score for us!
We didn't know if he had something in there, or if he was trying to get pink eye, or what... so Dr. A put some contrast stuff in there and shined a black light in his eye to see.
Are you picturing this? Imagine how easy it was to get him to cooperate. Just imagine.

So is it any wonder that I forgot that it was early release day at school?

I got a call at about 12:20, "Mrs. D, did you forget that it's early release day? I have Rowan waiting for you in the office." D'oh!
I tore around, getting Niall up from his nap (he hadn't gone to sleep yet), getting Eleri out of her swing (she was very asleep and didn't enjoy the waking), slamming the door, buckling in carseats, getting my keys caught in the carseat buckles...
School is only about 1.5 miles away... but still... I forgot my KID.

Rowan was sitting there on the floor of the office, with the 3 other children who were also waiting for forgetful parents. He thought it was funny. The office staff were very understanding. Eleri's hair glossed over any disapproval. Rowan told me that maybe I needed more coffee.

So ya. Some days I don't blog. And now you know why.
Oh, and Niall's eye? nothing was in it. We have drops because he thought it was the beginning of pink eye. I get to put them in BOTH eyes, 3 times a day. JOY.

Proof they love each other

We've been having bed time issues for a while now. They are boys. Sleeping is lame. It's more fun to jump off the bunk bed and fight and yell and carry on.
Last night, I had a plan. IF Rowan was trying to go to sleep and Niall was pestering, I was going to let Rowan lie down in our bed to fall asleep there. We could move him later.
It would be easier to move Niall, since he's on the bottom bunk, but Niall is not to be trusted in our room.
BUT, last night, Rowan was part of the problem. So John threatened. It didn't work. (It never does.) Then I went back there. I made Rowan go into the playroom. He got to have his pillow and blanket and he had to lay on the floor. (Again, can't make Niall go in the playroom. He'd just turn on the lights and start playing unless I sat right there with him. I have no desire to do this by the end of the day.)

How to prove they love each other

1. Separate fighting children

2. Forbid them from being near each other
3. Ignore the small noises you hear from them trying to sneak to be together. (If they think they have to be quiet to get away with something, they are extra quiet.)

awwwww

Why NC is awesome

If you don't like the weather, just wait a few days. It will change. Today it's 36. I'm not going to Target because it's cold out there. But that's ok. If I wait and go on Thurs it will be 60.
It won't be this nice in the summer, when my choices will probably be a range of 90 something. But hey, snow one weekend and grilling out the next? I can do that.

Yeah. riiiiiight...

You all know that I'm a stay at home mom, right?
Well, someone needs to inform the Biltmore Who's Who. Apparently I've been "recently chosen as a potential candidate to represent the professional and business community of [your town], North Carolina, in the Biltmore 2009 Honors Edition of Who's Who Among Executives and Professional Women.
The Publishing Committee selected [me] as a potential candidate, based upon [my] current standing as well as criteria from executive and professional rosters. Given [my] background, the Publishing Director believes [my] profile would make a fitting addition to [their] Honors Edition publication."
Really? *cough* Excuse me. I think I must have swallowed wrong. or something...
There's no cost to be listed. We'll just have confirmation of your mailing address, that's all. So we can solicit you to buy the Who's Who book. The Honors edition. It's chock full of other putzes who fell for this gag. And you can be listed right there with them! We don't want anything from you, really. Nothing at all...

4 months old

Yes, it snowed here today, but not as much as we got earlier this season. I took a couple of pics, but Eleri and I opted to stay inside and look through the window. I had this post planned for today anwyay.
Eleri turned 4 months old on Friday! It's hard to believe she's that old already, and harder to believe that she wasn't always with us. What did we do before we had this sweet little girl? I said that about both the boys too. :) What on earth did I do before I had kids?
So anyway here are a couple of shots from her 4 month old photo shoot. The rest of the pictures for the month of Feb can be found here. Why yes! I am working on being on the ball again. How did you guess?

She started out the day in this outfit. So cute! I had her in a sposie diaper because I didn't want to fiddle with tights and a diaper/cover combo. Bad choice. Of course she had a poo, and of course it went right up the back. Why do I even bother? That never happens in her sandies. *sigh* So out of the pretty little dress for the rest of the pictures.

I love her expression in that last picture.
Her 4 months ped visit is on Thurs. I have a feeling we're going to ditch the prevacid for prilosec. It's just not quite doing the job for her. Poor baby.

giggle

Fran will really like this one.

Austenbook

Rowan Dynamite!

Yes, I am aware that I didn't write yesterday. It will happen.

Today marks the begining of "Friday Flicks." Check back on Fridays for new videos of the kids doing something cute.
Have a good weekend!

TMI Science Fair

So you probably aren't all that concerned about my body odor, unless you are John who has to share living space with me, and even then he didn't say anything. But it's actually pretty hard to come up with something to write about every day, so here. In the spirit of the science fair...

Introduction: I was walking around like a schtank bomb, applying D.O. at least twice a day and STILL smelling myself. It was possibly post partum hormones, but ew! So I did some research.

Hypothesis: It may be hormonal, but DANG! Something has to help. Vinegar seems to clean everything. Why not give it a whirl?

Materials and Methods: Purchase 1 bottle of apple cider vinegar for 97 cents. Apply liberally to stanky body parts. Walk around smelling like salad for 15 minutes. Shower. Repeat vinegar pretreatment for every shower.

Results: I have experienced a marked decrease in foulness. I can now apply deodorant in the morning like a normal person, and not need to rush back and put more on when my nose gets too close to my pits.

Discussion: It's completely worth the 97 cents. I'm sure Eleri appreciates the odor decrease as well, since she hangs out in the general vicinity of my mid-body region most of the time. Vinegar really is magical. It can fix anything!

I said that I'd write something every day

But really, today I got nothin'.
Today was the big grocery store blitz. Aldi, Kroger, and Lowes Foods. But I shouldn't have to go again (except for milk, bread, and eggs) for two weeks.
And tonight is knit night. I have to take Eleri (her highness disdains the bottle) but I'm going to go out anyway. Hmm.... I wonder if they have decaf soy latte?

Eleri reflux update

I was really hoping to be able to do a dairy trial soon, but no such luck.
Over the past couple of weeks our baby has been getting fussier again, and is gurgly again, and anointed our bed (and me) again. So, off to the ped!
She's now 13 lbs 4.5 oz. A far cry from the 21lb 4 month old that Niall was! *whew*
Ped agrees that her reflux is not being managed well with the zantac, so we added a new med. I have to call them back and find out if this med is supposed to be in addition to the zantac, or instead of the zantac. I forgot to clarify that. And the pharmacy didn't have the order when I hit the drive thru on the way home, so I need to make sure it actually got sent over there, too.
But we shall see. She has her 4 month well baby check next week, so now is the perfect time to try it out because we'll already be there to follow up.

And no dairy for me. At least I'm used to it. I still hate it, but I'm used to it. Tonight we're having enchiladas without cheese. Some day I'll get cheese again. I just have to look at her little face and remind myself that it's all worth it. Every little bit.

Do the weekends count?

I'm going to have to go with a no on that one. Weekend posts will be bonus. There are way more people in this house on the weekends, and I have to maintain the illusion that I have it all together.
Today? Not so much. But this one wasn't my fault.
Trust me on that one.
Our invitation said 2-4pm. The actual party? 1-2:45. So getting there on time... wasn't really.
But that meant that we avoided the whole germ studio that is Jump Zone, at the madhouse time of the weekend afternoon. *wipes forehead*
We'll make it up with a trip there during track break, when all the other kiddies are in school.

a pox on gauge

I had to rip out the second leg of Jessica's britches. The ones with the 12" inseam.
Because I didn't notice that I knit the whole thing with the wrong size needle.
The whole. durn. thing.

Now I am way behind.

60 minutes of pure gold

If Eleri wakes up at her usual time (7:30) all is right with the world. Sunshine and butterflies abound.
If, however, Eleri wakes up at 6:30 - which she does some times for no apparent reason... well...
This is all I will be writing today.

for the comments

If you ask a question or something in the comments - I will comment back to you there. This might give me an inflated comment number, but it's the only way I can think of to handle that bit.

Still pictures do not convey the loudness

husband meme

I lifted this one off facebook/dooce. It's as good a way as any to get the blogging going. And I'm letting Niall play in the bathroom sink with a couple of bulb syringes (I shut off the water supply under the sink. Mama ain't no fool) so I have a little time. I secretly love doing these things anyway.

Questions about you and the hubs:

What are your middle names?
Mine is Elizabeth, his is Howell. I decided to not do the Southern Girl thing and dropped my maiden name when I got married. Maybe I was tired of spelling it? Maybe it was because of that time in 5th grade when Matt Ripley erased a "D" at the end of it on the front of my notebook, making it say "Wehrd" (weird). Remember that? When notebooks came with those paper covers and you could use an eraser to write on them... anyway...
Howell is a family name. His mom has a coat of arms with it on there hanging in their house somewhere. If his middle name had been Thomas, he would have been a "IV."

How long have you been together?
We started dating in 1997, so 12 years. Actually it will be 12 years ago Saturday that we had our first date.

How long did you know each other before you started dating?
I met him a year before, but I didn't really know him know him. We lived in the same dorm the next year, and I saw him around, thought he was a hottie.* Started to be friends for a little over a month, and then started dating.

Who asked whom out?
We decided it was our first date after the fact. It just worked out that way. But I said that I liked him first. Totally me there. I'm still impressed with myself over that one.

How old are each of you?
I'm 33, he's 32. I'm 8 months older. Rowan frequently reminds us of this fact. He also reminds us that I am the fattest. He's sensitive like that.

Whose siblings do you see the most?
Mine by default. Ben was in Italy and then England for a long time. Dan is all over the place. My sister lives with my Mom and my brothers live 3 blocks away, so any time we see her we see them too.

Which situation is hardest on you as a couple?
I think figuring out how to deal with the kids. That and figuring out what to do about dinner.

Did you go to the same school?
Yep. We met at USC. Go Gamecocks.

Are you from the same hometown?
No. He lived in Spartanburg his whole life until going to college. I lived in a few places before landing in Greenville.

Who is smarter?
I'm not going to touch that one.

Who is the most sensitive?
Let's put it this way...

Me ----------John

That picture was the whole reason I wanted to do this meme.

Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Couples do that? Without kids? What's that like?

Where is the farthest you two have traveled as a couple?
Again with the couple business? I guess you could say Oregon, but we moved there. Does that count? Maybe. It seems that when we travel, there's always other people involved. Like we went to Vermont, but Fran was with us. Or we'd go to Indiana, but that's to visit my family. The only "vacation" we've ever been on where it was just us was our honeymoon. That's just how it goes when you have small children.

Who has the craziest exes?
ummm... again with the not touching that one.

Who has the worst temper?
That would be me. John quietly seethes. I freak out on a semi-regular basis. It works for us.

Who does the cooking?
I do. It really annoys John when he asks me how much of something goes into what he's trying to make and I look at him blankly and then say "some."
He sticks to the stuff with directions printed on the box.

Who is the neat freak?
Neither of us. Our house is a spectacular balance of chaos held together with duct tape.

Who is more stubborn?
Ummm me? Him? Not sure.

Who hogs the bed?
I do. By far. Why not? He lays there like a log. A vampire log. If you don't use it, you lose it, buddy.

Who wakes up earlier?
He does. Rowan comes tiptoeing in and wakes us both, but John is the one who gets up. Right now I'm using the excuse of being up several times a night with the pixie.

Where was your first date?
We went to see the re-release of The Empire Strikes Back. I wasn't too big on going, but everyone was so I went too. He paid for me because I didn't have any money to go, and he offered so I wouldn't have to stay back at the dorm by myself. There was a guy dressed up as Princess Leia there. He had Honeybuns on the sides of his head for her hair. and a beard. But anyway, then we got separated from the group and had to sit by ourselves. And then they all left us so it was just us in his car going home, only we didn't go home - we went on a hunt for an open Taco Bell. We drove all over but they were all closed, so we settled for Burger King. And then we went home, but he didn't go home. We hung out in my room and I told him I liked him and then we went to sleep because we had Adopt A Highway the next morning. Awww.

Who is more jealous?
Me. I can admit it. I have a post-partum body and he works on a college campus. But that's ok. I'm secure. And he puts up with that whole Johnny Depp thing. And that Jacoby thing... and that Eddie Vedder thing... and that Edward the vampire thing...

How long did it take you to get serious?
I don't think we ever considered anything other than serious. Once we finally admitted that we liked each other, there was no going back. I remember he was making plans for the summer when we'd only been dating for a couple of weeks, and thinking "okay then," and that was that.

Who eats more?
I eat more at a time, and he eats more often. Only I'm eating pretty often now, too, what with the whole breastfeeding thing and all.

Who does the laundry?
I do the laundry, he does the dishes. Mostly. Sometimes I have to do a load of dishes, and sometimes he has to switch the laundry over for me. I don't recall him folding things though. Punk.

Who's better with the computer?
That is his domain. I whine and say "fiiiiiiix it."

Who drives when you are together?
He does. If he drives, I get to knit. That sounds fair to me.

*Hottie - a specific term for boys that Rachel and I used. One could be a hottie if you enjoyed his looks from afar. If you spoke to him, it had to be brief comments here and there. No real conversation. This was called an encounter. If you actually got to know the hottie and had real conversations with him, he could no longer be a hottie. He would either remove all hotness because he said stupid things or had an attitude, or he would move beyond hottie into "this guy I like."

Ah ha! There you are!

Eleri found her thumb today.
She was only happy lying across my lap with me patting her butt. And then...
*slurp* *slurp* *slurp*
She found it again this evening, so I'm thinking this wasn't a fluke.
It's way cute, but I haven't gotten a picture of it yet. Will keep trying.

The boys are calling each other Mr. Coo. Coo is a word at our house - either affectionate or annoying, depending on the intent. I've tried to ban them using it, but you know how that goes.
Coo and sibblesibble must be fun to say, because both boys say them over and over again. Whatever kid, just don't complain to me when your brother coos you.

Beware. Bewaaaarrree

(said in the voice of the Sea Captain's ghost off the Scooby Doo video game)

So I haven't been writing much. Understandably. I have a baby. But I need to write somewhere, so I'm going to start it back up again. My goal is to write something every day. I'm sure I have enough stories. I'm sure I can figure something out. And even if it's only Mom, Fran, and Lynne reading this thing... well that's ok. I need to flex my brain. I need to get back in the habit. I need to practice if I'm ever going to be a writer when I grow up.

Grow up? Some day.

Right now, someone is fussy. So I'll be back later. and I mean that.

tee hee

It's fun having a girl.

luxury

Nothing says luxury like velour for the booty.
Her royal pixieness is pleased.

that's better

Catharsis
Pronunciation: \kə-ˈthär-səs\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural ca·thar·ses \-ˌsēz\
Etymology: New Latin, from Greek katharsis, from kathairein to cleanse, purge, from katharos
Date: circa 1775

1: purgation
2 a: purification or purgation of the emotions (as pity and fear) primarily through art
b: a purification or purgation that brings about spiritual renewal or release from tension
3: Finally getting around to giving the 4 year old a buzz cut when you're mad at him.

buzz cut was yesterday. Picture from today.
Note the fuzzy scarf. He dressed himself today. His choices redeemed him from yesterday.

my day

What I'd like to do today: Sit someplace warm, with coffee and tea and lots of friends, and just gab and visit and enjoy the day. The kids would play nicely together and not need intervention. We would admire the cuteness/inventiveness and have a fantastic time. The sun would be shining and I would have on something new and flattering, with no stains.

What I need to do today: I need to go to the grocery store. We are out of bread. I have no idea what to make for dinner. I have nothing to eat for myself besides luna bars, eggs, and grapefruit.

What I'm actually doing today: I'm nursing the baby and trying to get her to sleep so that I can scour the house and find every single pair of scissors and put them up on top of the fridge. Why?

Because when I'm nursing the baby and think that Niall is playing with coins and I can see his back... I can see him... He's really snuck into the kitchen and climbed something to get a pair of scissors so that he can ruin something that belongs to me. In this case, a ball of BFL dyed by Mosaic Moon. I'm making britches for Eleri out of this, and wanted to save the rest to make her a soaker for this summer. Why did he feel the need to do this? I don't know.
It is his method. to destroy. anything. everything.
Yes, I restrained myself and put him in his room before I could kill him. No, I did not keep my cool and had a screaming fit at him first. He is still in there. If he values his life, he will stay there. I may or may not feed him lunch. I am that angry.
It's not just the yarn... it's the constant destruction of everything. He breaks toys, crayons, dishes, cameras... I could go on and on. We actually bought a keyed doorknob so I could lock the games, craft stuff, and small pieces toys away from him. That doorknob is worth its weight in gold.
I did salvage the yarn.

There will be enough to do what I want. So there's that anyway. And another morning gone down the tubes.

Anyone want a 4 year old?

Your Government in Action

I feel heard.

Dear Mrs. Davis:

Thank you for contacting me about consumer product safety laws. I appreciate hearing your thoughts on the issue.

In response to countelss recalls of children's projucts, namely toys manufactured in China, Congress passed the Consumer Product Safetly Improvement Act (CPSIA) in October 2008. After many months of serious deliveration and extensive debate, the House and Sentate were able to make major reforms to the Consumer Product Safetly Commission (CPSC) and implement several new safety standaards. Among the most noteworthy improvements specifically for children's toys were mandatory reductions in lead content,, mandatory third party testing, and tracking labels to easily identify the origin of children's products. The new law also provides for a ban on phthalates in children's toys. Phthalates, which are chemicals used in plastics to make them more flexible, have been the subject of much debate given the possible developmental impacts they may have on young children.

I belive CPSIA will protect American children from hazardous imported toys. However, it apperas that some portions of the bill are causing significant confusion for thrift stores, consignment shops, and very small businesses. The new regulations imposed by this law are slated to take effect on February 10, 2009. I do not believe it was the intent of Congress to shut down family-owned, small businesses with the passage of this legislation and implementation of the new regulations. In response to concerns raised by my constituents, I have contacted the Senate Commerce Committee to determine what steps the CPSC or Congress can take to resolve these issues expeditiously while still protecting children from hazards.

Again, thank you for contacting me. Should you have any additional questions or comments, please do not hesitate to let me know or visit my website at http://burr.senate.gov.

Sincerely,
Richard Burr
United States Senator

Facebook ramble

I recently came across a couple of old friends on Facebook. And when I say old friends, I mean old friends. Friends from kindergarten and first grade. Friends who I'd always wondered about - where are they now? - but never thought I'd "see" them again. And poof. There they were... Betsy Hagar and Jimmy Hall, right there on Facebook.
My memories of childhood are faded, of course. I moved away from Indiana when I was 13 years old, so 20 years ago. Man, has it really been 20 years? I've found that most of the memories that are solidly layed down in my brain happened after puberty, but there are still those flashes from my earlier childhood that stay with me. How Betsy was one of the tallest girls in kindergarten and I was the smallest, so she was always the mommy and I was always the baby. I admired her for her fashion sense, because she wore 2 polo shirts with the collars popped up and her socks matched them. And I remember going to one of Jimmy's birthday parties and being happy that I could wear my sandals because his birthday was in May and it was finally warm enough to wear them. Or how we picked on each other like little girls and boys do because God forbid you actually be nice to someone of the opposite sex or you'll be accused of liking them. Of course, I adored them both.
I remember seeing the moving Stand By Me and hearing the line "friends move in and out of your life like busboys in a restaurant," (which may or may not be paraphrased. I never said my memory was that good.) and feeling so deeply sad over that. I couldn't deny the truth there, but I could be sad about it.
It's part of my personality to try to reclaim pieces of my past. It's like finding little bits of myself that have fallen away as the years have gone by. The books, pictures, toys... they remind me of the games I used to play and the faces I once loved and thought I would love for forever. And I do still love these old friends. It's almost magical, to be able to connect after all this time - 20 years! - have gone by. I can look at the pictures of their kids, and they can see mine, and we can remember what it was like when we were kids and our biggest worry was if we got to be in the gym or in the classroom for recess, and those awful timed math tests. I remember how loud Hungry Hungry Hippos was, and how I'd hide behind the big red mats at the end of the gym when we had to play dodgeball. I remember swooning over Mr. Sands and speculating that Mr. Whitacre always wore a green tie so the boogies wouldn't show when he wiped them on there. The big green slide on the playground, and how the boys would always drink their jello through a straw at lunchtime. Making bookmarks in the library and playing tetherball outside... it's all in there, and now it's just a wee bit closer than it was yesterday.
Good times.

Purple!

I started this way back during the middle of my pregnancy with Eleri and got all the way to the second sleeve before Niall got ahold of my clicker and went merrily clicking through the house - so I didn't know where I was in the decrease pattern anymore. Pregnancy apathy set in, and it went to live in that space between the couch and the bookshelf.

I finally got it back out for some reason or other, and then when Michelle was here for a short visit I showed it to her, so then I had to get it done.

Pattern: Knitting Pure and Simple Baby Cardigan
Yarn: Carmen 100% Cotton from Goddess Yarns
This is yarn that Kim bought, and then gave to me when she decided to stop knitting. She's crazy.

The Pixie approves.

I should know by now...

If it's quiet, it means that Niall is up to something.
Like using a gluestick to glue googly eyes to his face.
That's what you'd do... right?

It's starting to melt

But we enjoyed it while it was here!

Snow Day!

It isn't often in NC that you wake up to outside looking like this.

What this means is that the kids will be up and trying to sneak outside before 7am. So what you do is you scramble trying to find clothing that will keep them warm when you live in a climate that doesn't usually require more than what people further north would consider a jacket.
So you bundle up the baby.

Who is pretty much clueless but is happy and excited because something is going on! And you make the kids wear their footie jammies under their clothes because you don't have any long underwear and go outside.

I think Niall made that face last time we had a big snow. But he'd still be out there if I hadn't dragged him inside.

Rowan enjoyed it, but got cold quickly. Lightweight. We need to just get a bunch of waterproof mittens to have for this rare occasion. His hands were the problem. But he had a blast while he was out there.

And it's still coming down out there. I expect we'll be out in it again after lunch. One of these days I'll get my hands on those blue plastic sleds that roll up. I always want them on the rare snow event, and never remember them between times. But they'd be super easy to store, so I need to get them.

Eleri

Could you eat her up?

facelift

What do you think?
I have to do something when I'm stuck under a baby half the day. :)

Opening back up

I think the babymoon is over. I managed a pair of britches for Eleri in an okay amount of time, so I'm pretty confident that I can knit for other people again. I'll be contacting the remaining two people on my list and seeing if they still want woolies.
After that, well... there's that whole CPSC lead thing... Wool as a natural fiber should be exempt, but someone said that that only applies to undyed yarn. I don't know. I'm far from expert in that kind of thing. Do I think the feds would come after me? One little knitter in a sea of millions? No not really. But who needs that lurking over her head?
So with that, I'm going to be changing prices a little bit and will go totally YYMN. That's Your Yarn My Needles for those of you who aren't up on the lingo. That will also light a fire under my knitting behind, because I'll really have to use my time wisely if I have something that belongs to someone else. So... with that.
I'm Open!

I'm hilarious

really. I am.

Extreme knitting

I finished these last night, but haven't woven in that last end because y'all have to see...
Let's get in the right frame of mind first.

I chose a light purple for the waist and cuffs, because I was afraid of running out of yarn to make small britches. I know I would have enough, but I feel the psychological need of padding. So anyway... chose the lavendar because I thought it looked pretty.
There is some pooling strangeness with the green on one side and the pinks/purples on the other side in the body, but I don't rip back for pooling unless it's superugly. This is ok.
I parceled out my lavendar into two balls for the cuffs, so I would know I had enough.
I had a bunch left over after the first leg cuff. I mentally gave myself a pat on the back for being so thoughtful as to assure my sanity.
Sometime between that first cuff and the last one... the larger ball of cuff yarn walked off (on little Niall feet). I didn't realize this. I thought I had the good ball with me as I began that last cuff.
And then it seemed to get small really quickly. You know how that happens. You're whipping along knitting and ZOOP! there goes the end of the ball.
I started to sweat. I also may have been muttering some things about Niall that weren't exactly complimentary. I looked for the bigger ball, but I couldn't find it anywhere. I decided to stick it out and see.
I won. Barely. But I won.

Oh and the missing ball? I found it this morning under the microwave.
Well played, Niall. Well played.

8 years.

And it's only gotten better.

Christmas

I'm not going to write and post a bunch of Christmas pictures. There are a quite a few, but I was not feeling my best so there aren't as many as there could be and what's there isn't that great. They'll be up on snapfish soon - I'm going to make an effort to do that again.

Christmas morning was really good though, and Rowan had the best reactions. His face for almost every present that anyone opened looked like this:

The boy was excited.
We had fun. We played. We ate turkey. We played some more. It was good.
Eleri didn't do much, but she looked cute.

Longies by Cece of Knit Candy. Yes I bought some knitting. Hey, it was on sale, and I should support other knitters, right?
We're stretching Christmas out too. Tonight we made a gingerbread house. It's dairy free!

Tomorrow John and I will celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary. Sharon and Scott will stop by for lunch. And Mamaw is supposed to get here on Thursday since she missed Christmas. I love this time of year!

2 months old

It's hard to believe. Life with her on the outside of my body goes by so much faster than those last few weeks of pregnancy went.
She's a dolly. She's a very sweet little baby, and hardly any more evening fussy time. The non-dairy diet has really helped her a ton. I won't kid you - I hate it. But she's worth every bit of denial.
Maybe it's because I'm older. Maybe it's because I wanted her for a couple of years before I finally got to have her. But I'm really marvelling at these baby days. I love her toes, her grunts, her warm little lump status... She's everything a baby should be and more, and I thank God every day that he sent her to us.
But anyway. Here are her 2 months portraits. She's wearing the same outfit that she came home in. I'm just impressed that she still fits in it!

You are going to notice that I have a new toy

because the number of pictures is going to go up a bit.
Also, our old camera had focus issues, and baby smiles are fleeting and hard to catch.
But looky here!

The combo of new camera + Eleri being more generous with her smiles = WIN!
Isn't she cute? Lisa N. gave us the bow yesterday. Eleri wants more bows and some binkies for Christmas.

I forgot to tell you about our tiger

Rowan got a stuffed tiger from the Rainforest Cafe when we were in Vegas this summer. He named it Katamari (after a video game) and it's been his constant companion. Kinda reminds me of Calvin and Hobbes.
So when we went to the Holiday Express last Sunday night (sorry, no pictures of that. It was dark.) and they had face painting, Rowan jumped at the chance to get half his face painted like a tiger.
We would have gone for the whole thing, but at $5 a half...
He loved it. So much that John had to be careful doing his bath so the face paint wouldn't get washed off. He managed to keep it for a good bit of the next day too before it got smeared everywhere and we finally had to wash it off. There were tears involved and I had to promise to go to the library and get a book on how to paint faces.
He made a pretty good tiger though!

Learning the ropes again

Tommy and Fran got us a new camera for Christmas. We actually got it a day or so ago, but I've been studying the manual and then yesterday we spent all day at the mall for the annual visit to see Santa. No it doesn't take all day, but we have to spend time in the play area/germ pit playing with our friends too.
So anyway, last night I hauled it out for its inaugural run. It was night, and the room was poorly lit, and I had to use the flash, but I think we got something cute anyway.

And we did see Santa yesterday. The boys lied about behaving and put in their request for a Wii. I no longer have the threat to not take them to see Santa to get them to stop fighting, but I do have the supreme weapon in the pre-Christmas arsenal....

If they're really naughty. We go back to the big guy and they have to tell him what they did.
You wouldn't believe how well that works.

the lunch of the beast

Yep.

One cheeseburger happy meal with chocolate milk and fries.
One chicken nugget happy meal with chocolate milk and fries.

total:

$6.66

Also: it's love when you get happy meals for your little guy on his birthday and drive home with the smell of McD's fries all over the car, when you can't have any, because McD's has a dairy additive in their fries. Seriously. Fries. I'm stockpiling karma.

Taken out of context....

this could be alarming.

Today is Rowan's last day of school before his track break, so we needed to send in Christmas cookies for his teacher and the aide. So last night Rowan and I made cookies.
I was making the dough before dinner so it could chill and we could cut cookies after bath time.
Rowan didn't know what I was doing. He didn't really pay attention. He just knew I was in the kitchen.

Here's the thing. Our cookie recipe calls for 2 Tbsp of whiskey. Straight up whiskey.
He comes waltzing into the kitchen right after I opened it up and added it.

He takes a whiff. His eyes light up. And he says... "Hey that smells like Christmas!"

Yep. Whiskey smells like Christmas.